Texas

September 20, 2009

Program allows delivery of nonpasteurized milk

Heritage Dairy milks a lot of cows near Canyon, but a select few make milk their owner describes as "fresh, honest and local."

Of the 800 to 850 cows milked at the dairy, 16 make up the small herd, producing milk the dairy sells without any processing. That makes it one of about 30 dairies in the state that have licenses to sell raw milk.

"A lot of our customers get it for health reasons, but some of them buy it just because it tastes good," said Vorster, manager of the dairy owned by Alan VanderHorst, who has other dairies in the Dublin area.

Most milk, like the majority of that from Heritage Dairy, is shipped in tanker trucks to a processing plant that either makes it into a product like cheese, or pasteurizes and homogenizes it to be sold at groceries. That means it is subjected to controlled heat to kill bacteria and then mixed to create a uniform product.

The special herd at Heritage goes into the milking parlor before any of the others. Their milk goes through filters and a cooling mechanism, then into a small, stainless steel tank to be cooled to be stored about 34 degrees until consumers come to fill their containers.

Workers pump the milk left from the day before out of the small tank every morning so they can begin the day with a fresh supply.

The small herd lives in a pasture rather than a dirt lot, but gets supplemental feed on top of grazing. If they need medical treatment with antibiotics, they move back into the larger herd to keep the raw milk pure.

The raw milk must meet stricter regulations than bulk milk does, but Vorster said keeping it safe is simple.

"You just handle it right, keep it cold and make sure the cows are healthy," she said.

The Texas Department of State Health Services inspects all dairies about every two months.

"The raw milk has to meet the same bacteria standards as pasteurized milk on store shelves, but there's more tests done on it in our lab," said health services sanitarian Jim Fraley.

Regulated raw milk has been available since the late 1980s, but there seems to be an increase in production due to consumer demand.

"There were a few, maybe a dozen, dairies doing it for a long time," Fraley said. "Over the last few years, the cow dairies have gotten involved. Before it was only goat dairies."

State regulations only allow dairies to sell raw milk on their premises.

Heritage Dairy started selling milk to the public about two years ago through a program called "cow shares," Vorster said. Consumers buy part of a cow and pay a monthly fee for upkeep of their share in exchange for milk.

In June, the dairy started selling milk to go into containers provided by the consumer, or in containers that are already filled and refrigerated in the dairy.

Vorster and VanderHorst are still developing the market for raw milk. The dairy sells one bulk load of about 50,000 pounds, or 5,800 gallons, every day from the large herd. The raw milk is less predictable.

"There are 75 share members at this stage, and that's about 80 gallons a week," Vorster said. "There's not that many other steady customers. One week it will be 30 gallons, and another we'll sell 10. But we're trying to get the word out."